Lu Fangfang looked at Zhuang's mother with considerable surprise.

From Zhuang's mother's eyes, she couldn't tell how much the old lady liked the two children.

Egg and Green were quite happy.

The two little ones did not accept the candy from Zhuang's mother.

They ran to Lu Fangfang, hugged her legs, and looked up at her, saying, "We want Mommy to take us, we want Mommy to take us..."

"Mommy, Mommy, I want to see the monkeys."

"Okay, let your dad take us with him tomorrow."

Lu Fangfang smiled broadly.

Besides visiting her grandfather, she also wanted to see Beijing in this era, so she even brought her camera with her.

"Daddy, Daddy..."

The two children ran up to Zhuang Mingcheng again.

"Okay, I'll take you to see the flag-raising ceremony tomorrow. In the morning, we'll go to the zoo to see the monkeys, and in the afternoon, we'll go shopping at the department store."

Zhuang Mingcheng patted the two little ones on the head and then told them to go play with the old man.

Carrying two snow chickens, he called to his wife and prepared to cook.

Besides cordyceps, he also brought some yellow mushrooms, which would be perfect for making a snow chicken, cordyceps, and mushroom soup.

Beside her, Zhuang's mother held a few candies in her hand, her face turning pale and then flushed.

Seeing that her son's family ignored her, she spat angrily and stormed back into the inner room.

...

"Mingcheng, what kind of wood is your furniture made of?"

In the kitchen, Lu Fangfang helped out while asking questions curiously.

"It's made of huanghuali wood, right? This wood isn't expensive, but it's quite sturdy. I've had these pieces of furniture since I was a child, and they've never broken."

Zhuang Mingcheng asked his wife to pour some hot water on the pot.

He rolled up his sleeves and plucked the snow chicken feathers.

"Huanghuali? Not expensive?"

Lu Fangfang was taken aback, but then she realized that this was normal in this era.

She touched her bulging pockets and began to ponder.

She brought all the salary she had saved up over the past two years with her family to Beijing, so she could take the opportunity to buy some old furniture to store.

At that time, the "Destroy the Four Olds" campaign was underway, so buying other things was risky, but buying old furniture was fine.

It would be a real shame to come all the way to Beijing and not pick up any bargains.

"Mingcheng, are there any places in the capital that sell secondhand furniture?"

"Yes, there is a state-owned trust store at the west corner of the street, which is full of secondhand furniture."

As Zhuang Mingcheng spoke, he looked up at his wife and said, "Fangfang, you want to buy furniture? We can't take it back with us."

"I was just asking."

Lu Fangfang poured some more hot water on her husband, then became impatient.

She ran to the east courtyard next door and looked at each one.

Apart from the north room, the east and west wing rooms are empty. If we were to buy some old furniture, there would be a good place to put it.

Back in the kitchen, she thought for a while, but didn't know how to tell her husband.

After all, it's not something a normal person would do to buy a bunch of old furniture that they don't need while earning a decent salary.

Lu Fangfang thought for a moment and then simply said it.

"Mingcheng, do you believe me when I say that those old furniture pieces made of good wood will appreciate in value in the future?"

"letter."

"ah?"

Seeing his wife's surprise, Zhuang Mingcheng chuckled.

"There's an old saying: 'Antiques are valued in prosperous times, gold is valued in chaotic times.' Even though we live in a new society now, I think these good things will definitely be more valuable in the future."

Lu Fangfang realized that she had underestimated her own man.

Now that you understand, things are much easier to discuss.

She immediately made an agreement with her husband that they would go to the trust store in a couple of days to buy some old furniture to store.

She doesn't need Zhuang Mingcheng's salary; she's taken on illustrations for several comic books in the past two years, and her royalties should be enough to support her.

...

That evening, Zhuang's father drank the delicious snow chicken soup and praised it highly.

Even Zhuang's mother, who was standing to the side, stopped talking and kept eating the snow chicken meat in big bites.

Lu Fangfang glanced at Zhuang's mother and found that she was no longer as pretentious as before. Now she could eat anything, even cordyceps.

It seems the old man wasn't entirely lying; the old woman was indeed transformed a lot at the farm.

After dinner, Lu Fangfang and Zhuang Mingcheng told the old man about the situation in Qilian.

After chatting for a long time, the two children fell asleep in their parents' arms.

Lu Fangfang yawned, feeling a little sleepy herself.

Seeing this, Zhuang's father quickly urged the two of them to go and rest.

"Dad, then Mingcheng and I will go to sleep."

Lu Fangfang stood up, holding Qingqing in her arms.

Beside her, Mrs. Zhuang's eyes darted around, as if she had thought of something.

"Well, Fangfang, why don't you let the two kids sleep in this room? Your dad and I can take care of Dandan and Qingqing. It's warmer here, and we can help them from now on..."

"Mom, these two kids are making a lot of noise tonight, let's go to our room instead."

Lu Fangfang smiled, didn't listen anymore, and left with Qingqing in her arms.

Zhuang Mingcheng carried Dandan and followed behind his wife.

"Hey? Fangfang? Mingcheng?"

Just as Mrs. Zhuang was about to chase after him, Mr. Zhuang grabbed her arm.

After his son and daughter-in-law had walked away, he finally said angrily with a stern face, "What are you doing now? You've been on the farm for two years, and I don't think you've reformed yet!"

Zhuang's mother looked aggrieved.

She quickly stepped forward and took the old man's hand. "Jianxun, I'm only thinking about the children. Don't you want to keep Dandan and Qingqing in the capital?"

"Qilian is so desolate, there isn't even a good school. These adorable children can't be neglected. If you ask me, we should just leave them in the capital and I'll take care of them myself..."

Just as Mrs. Zhuang was about to continue speaking, she saw the old man suddenly stand up.

"Zhou Huairu, let me tell you, that's Fangfang and Mingcheng's child. It's none of your business to decide!"

“Mingcheng hasn’t wanted to come back all these years, don’t you know why? You can’t even take care of your own child, yet you want to take care of someone else’s child!”

Father Zhuang pointed at Mother Zhuang, furious.

He had been in the military all this time and hadn't had time to care about his family. After all these years, this is what he regrets the most.

"Mingcheng and Fangfang have finally come back, don't cause any trouble for me!"

After saying this, Zhuang's father strode into the inner room.

"You, surnamed Zhuang, are talking nonsense! Who didn't take good care of their son? Isn't it all your fault? I've been raising the child all by myself. Do you know how hard it is for me?"

Zhuang's mother blushed and immediately chased after him.

...

In the east courtyard next door.

Lu Fangfang hugged Qingqing and carefully placed her in the quilt.

She stood up, looked at the wooden bed, and felt that it should also be made of huanghuali wood.

This would be worth a lot of money decades from now, but she lay down to try it out and found it wasn't as comfortable as the heated kang bed at her home in Qilian.

"Fangfang, don't take my mother's words to heart. No one can take our Dan'er and Qingqing away."

Zhuang Mingcheng put down the egg, full of apology.

"I knew what kind of person my mother was two and a half years ago."

Lu Fangfang smiled and shook her head.

After learning about Zhuang's mother's ulterior motives, she was relieved.

To think that she could take away her eggs and Qingqing was wishful thinking on Zhuangmu's part.